Roberto Martinez hailed Everton reaching the League Cup semi-final as "terrific" after their 2-0 win at Middlesbrough on Tuesday.
Superb first-half goals from in-form duo Gerard Deulofeu and Romelu Lukaku earned the victory at the Riverside Stadium that booked Everton's place in the last four.
That delighted their manager, who felt the triumph was a reward for the travelling hordes.
Martinez told Sky Sports: "It was all about getting to the semi-finals. The fans came in big numbers and it is terrific for our football club."
Everton boss Martinez was frustrated on Saturday when his side let a two-goal lead slip at AFC Bournemouth, before conceding an injury-time leveller after Ross Barkley made it 3-2 moments earlier.
He was, therefore, delighted to see those lessons learned at Middlesbrough, who could not break through after the visitors' two early goals.
"We knew we had to be very mature and control the game," the Spaniard added. "I thought we did that really well, especially after the weekend.
"We showed we learnt a lot from the weekend. Middlesbrough are a very, very good team and they defended really well. Our two goals were exceptional pieces of quality.
"That is never something to take for granted. Most pleasing, though, was to keep the clean sheet after going 2-0 up."
‘Sir Gary Lineker? I don’t know how you comment on that – I’ve never even considered it. I just try to stand up for the things I believe in’ England legend tells FFT why he won’t stop raising humanitarian issues, even if it affects potential honours
'I fell on the floor and shouted for a penalty. Someone pulled me up and said, "Don’t cheat to win penalties". It was Steve McManaman. I never did it again!' Ex-Liverpool forward reveals harsh lesson he learnt from his team-mate on Reds debut
